Gujarat legislator resigns from Congress, seeks to join BJP

Ahmedabad, March 16 (IANS) Miffed over not being given a ticket for the parliamentary polls, a Congress legislator in Gujarat resigned from the party Monday and sought to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sami Haji legislator Bhavsinh Rathod wanted to contest the Patan Lok Sabha seat in North Gujarat but he was not considered by the party leadership.

Interestingly, Rathod had resigned from the Congress Sunday morning but had withdrawn his resignation the same evening. However, he resigned again Monday and drove straight to the BJP office where he met the party’s state unit chief Purshottam Rupala and expressed his desire to join the party.

In a hurriedly convened press conference at the BJP office, Rupala said Rathod had sought to join the BJP. However, it would be up to the party high command in New Delhi to decide whether he could be taken into the party or not, he added.

Rupala also noted that Rathod’s entry into the BJP would greatly help the party consolidate its position in North Gujarat where it was looking for a strong leader from the Thakore community.

Rathod said that the primary reason for him resigning from the Congress was that his name was not being considered for the Patan seat, where he claimed over 600,000 members of the Thakore community in the region wanted him to contest.

“I have only resigned from the primary membership of the Congress party and have not tendered my resignation as a legislator. I have no desire to resign as a legislator right now,” he said.